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(No Model.) v 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. W. R. PHILLIPS.

FRUIT DRIER. No. 270,695. Patented Jan. 16,1883.

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W, R. PHILLIPS.

FRUIT DRIER. 4 v No. 270,695. Patented Jan. 16,1883.

N PETERS. PhuloLilhognpMr. Walhingkon 11c UNITED STATES PATENT OFEIcWILLIAM R. PHILLIPS, OF MILFORD, DELAWARE, ASSIGNOR TO .THE SCOTTMANUFACTURIN G COMPANY, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

FRUIT-DRIER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 270,695, dated January16, 1883.

Application filed May 20, 1882.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, WILLIAM R. PHILLIPS, ofMilford, Kent county, State of Delaware, have invented certain new andusefulImprovements in Frnit-Driers; and I hereby declare the same to befully, clearly, and exactly described as follows, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation ofthe device,

partly in section, on the lines 00, y yof Fig.

Fig. 2 is a top plan; Fig. 3, a sectional eleva tion, showing thespring-door and gravitycatches. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of one of thecatches; Fig. 5, a, perspective view of the 15 pan or tray; Fig. 6, alongitudinal sectional view of the same; and Fig. 7, a perspective viewof one of the corners of the tray, shown from below.

My invention relates to devices for drying 2o apples, peaches, and otherfruit; and it has for its object to obviate certain difficulties whichhave attended the use of existing forms of like apparatus.

The invention will first be described, and

then pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, A is the outer casing or stack, which is placed over asuitable furnace so that the heated air may rise through it. In uprightsa a at either side is mounted a shaft,

0 B, over which chains D are led to cross-beams d. A pulley, b, is keyedon the end of the shaft B, and from it a chain,G,-is led to a horizontalshaft or drum, 0, journaled at the side of the casing and having acrank, c. It will be understood that upon turning the crank the beams clare raised or lowered, as the case may be.

To the beams d are bolted cross-beams E E, from which depend bars e, thelower ends of which pass through guides 'i. Beside the beams E aresimilar stationary beams, E, hav- 7 ing corresponding depending bars, 6.As shown in the drawings, there are two rows of bars 6 e, dividing thestack into three vertical compartments; but obviously more or less maybe used.

To the bars 6 e, and in the sides of the stack atproperintervals, arepivoted gravity-catches f, having ribsf, which subserve a double end, ashereinafter set forth.

In the front of the casing-are doors G, op-

(No model.)

posite the compartments, between the barsee and the sides of the stack.These doors are pivoted at their lower edges, and are normally held upby springs g, but tilt downward, as

"shown in dotted lines, Fig. 3, to permit of the insertion of the trays.Rollers Z on the sides of the casing and guides l on the sides of thebars 0 e serve to support the trays when inserted through the doors G.

The trays L (see Figs. 5, 6, 7 are of peculiar construction. They aremade of continuous strips of angle-iron bent thrice at right angles andlapped at 0, when the lapped edges are riveted or not, as desired. Thebase-pieces 6 5 are either initered at the corners so as to meet or else(and this by preference) they are lapped and riveted, as shown at 1),Fig.7, forming a lightandstifi'frame. \Vires M are attached to theframes, forming reticulated trays, and being inserted through thebottom-flange perforations in the an gle-iron, and stretched from sideto side and end to end, formbinders, as it were, for the sides of thetray, holding them in proper position, whether they are riveted or 7 5'not. This construction of the trays is of great importance in securingimmunity from danger of fire, as the juices and gum from the fruit willsoon convert a wooden trayinto tinder. The danger of tire is so greatwith the usual forms of apparatus as to render it almost impossible toeffectinsurance upon them. Trays made of wood are further objectionable,in that they take up much room in the drying apparatus, while thoseconstructed of angle-iron 8 5 (which are fire-proof, asbeforedescribed,) take up very little, the fruit occupying all the spaceexcept the thickness of the iron, it' so desired. The wooden trays arefurther objectionable, in that they sometimes impart the flavor of the 0wood to the fruit. My trays overcome all of these objections. They arelight, cheap, durable, fire-proof, and inodorous.

In practice the trays are filled with thepared and sliced fruit and arepassed into the stack 5 through the doors G, which tilt inward as thetrays pass inward and immediately close behind them, preventing loss ofheated air. The trays slide in upon the guides land rollers 1. When thetrays first introduced have been in too the stack long enough to nearlycomplete the drying of the fruit contained upon them the crank c isturned, lifting the bars 0. The catchesf, encountering the lower edgesof the trays, lift them, and in rising the catchesfof the stationarybars 0 are tilted up, as shown in Fig. 4, and fall again as soon as thetrays pass. The bars e are then lowered by reverse rotation of the crankc, and a second tray is inserted bolow the first. In this manner thestack is gradually filled and the trays are removed seriat'im as theyreach the top. The progress of the operation may be observed from timeto time through the window F, The ribs f on the catches f serve toprevent the catches from being tilted too far, and also assist by theirweight to cause the catches to return to their normal positions, inwhich the ribs rest against the fronts of the bars 6 a and hold thecatches horizontal.

Having thus described my invention, vs hat I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In combination With the outer casing havingdoors G, and oppositethereto the traysupporting rollers Z and guides l, the dependingstationary bars 0 and movablebars e, and 25 the gravity-catches f,pivoted in slots in said bars and having ribs f, as set forth.

2. In combination with the stack having depending bars 6 e, thegravity-catchesf, having ribs f, adapted to limit the upward anddownward movements of the catches by encountering the fronts of thebars, as set forth.

8. The tray herein described, consisting of the an gle-iron bent atright angles and having its bottom flange lapped or mitered at saidbends, forming the sides of the tray, combined with the wire netting orstrands having their ends inserted in perforations in said bottomflanges and fastened therein and stretched, forming thereby a bottom forthe tray and binders to hold the sides in proper relation to each other,as set forth.

WILLIAMR. PHILLIPS.

W'itnesses:

JOHN W. ADKINS,

toB'r. JNo. BESWICK.

